FLYNN BOMBSHELL “Michael Flynn told President Donald Trump’s transition team weeks before the inauguration that he was under federal investigation for secretly working as a paid lobbyist for Turkey during the campaign, according to two people familiar with the case.” And here’s what you need to know about the Flynn revelations and how they may have directly affected U.S. military strategy in Syria. [NYT]

TRUMP CAMPAIGN REPORTEDLY HAD AT LEAST 18 ‘UNDISCLOSED’ CONTACTS WITH RUSSIANS “Flynn and other advisers to Trump’s campaign were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the 2016 presidential race, current and former U.S. officials familiar with the exchanges told Reuters.” Six of those were reportedly between Flynn and Russian diplomat Sergey Kislyak. [Reuters]

DOW TAKES LARGEST DIVE SINCE SEPTEMBER Amid the swirl of White House controversies. [HuffPost]

OKLAHOMA OFFICER WHO KILLED TERENCE CRUTCHER FOUND NOT GUILTY OF MANSLAUGHTER “The white police officer who fatally shot Terence Crutcher, an unarmed black man whose car stalled in the middle of the road in Tulsa, Oklahoma last year, was found not guilty of first-degree murder on Wednesday evening.” [HuffPost]

BAYLOR FOOTBALL TEAM ACCUSED OF GANG-RAPE, TAKING PHOTOS OF VICTIM In federal lawsuit filed Tuesday. [HuffPost]

EL NINO MAY BE OVER But those record-breaking temperatures are here to stay. [HuffPost]